Page 22 of Sweet Nightmares
Without them, her face looked pale, sallow, sour, and sick. Mirror bargains had consequences—even if she wasn’t the one who bargained for the goods—and unfortunately, the consequence of the makeup was that she would always look dim without it. She had lost all her shine.
But she had to use it. If she didn’t, she would all be one big mass of bruises.
Jane swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. She didn’t have time to go and buy more makeup. Nightmare had summoned her, and if she didn’t show up soon, he’d pull her into his mirror with or without her consent.
Not that consent really existed with him. She had tradedherself, and he could technically do whatever he wanted.
But Jane hated being torn through space and into his mirror realm—Jane called the experience going through the travel void. It made her queasy and messed with her balance. Neither of these would be suitable for a prima ballerina.
He had done it three times before when she hadn’t arrived on time. And every time, it made her vomit and feel nauseous for days.
Jane’s head and face hurt. Not just from the bruises her husband had left there, but also because of the emotions pooling behind her taut cheeks.
She didn’t want Nightmare to see her like this. The only time she’d let him see her with bruises was the first time. Every other time, she was prepared.
But not now.
And the bruises were bad.
Fuck. Jane rubbed her face. What was she going to do?
She scrambled through her bottles and pills, losing all sense of order to them. She knew the search was in vain. Jane wasn’t a super clean person per se, but she always knew where everything was. It was organized chaos.
So she knew she wouldn’t find any hidden makeup anywhere.
But her fingers curled around a bottle, and she pinched her eyes shut. Fuck. Oh, she hated it. Jane didn’t use Mirror-Poppy much because she hated how it made her feel. Yes, it healed her wounds quickly, but it slowed her reactions, made her mind loopy and elated. It made her high, and she hated being high—hated losing control.
But it was the only option. It was the only thing that might make her face look reasonably presentable.
Jane turned the lid, and she poured out the pills, taking one and swallowing it dry.
The effects were almost immediate. Ecstasy surged through her blood. Hot and cold all at once, but oh, so good. Everything felt so wonderful and peaceful. Nothing could go wrong. Her mind was filled with bright pink bubbles and glitter dust. She no longer cared about anything at all. Why would she? Shewas whole and right. It was enthralling and so intoxicating, and she almost forgot… hmmm, what? She was supposed to do something. Wasn’t she?
Before she knew it, her body was pulled taut like a tightrope, and she was launched through space, the blackness sparkling around her like diamonds. Teleportation always felt weird. But when she was high, it felt fuzzy and warm, as if she were cuddling with a life-size bunny.
The thought made her giggle. High and bright. And that was what she was doing as Nightmare’s lair appeared before her. She sat cross-legged on the floor, pretending to hug a massive bunny while she giggled.
Sober Jane would have been horrified. But alas, she was very much not sober.
“Get up.” The words were harsh, dark, and filled with magic. Like any order Nightmare gave, Jane had to comply.
So, she did, the laughter still falling from her lips, cut off only by a massive hand that touched her skin. At his touch, she sucked in her giggles.
Nightmare clutched her chin tightly, cruelly, and stared into her eyes, emanating disgust.
His skin sizzled on hers, and she knew she should feel afraid or ashamed, but all she felt was lust and longing.
Her heart beat outrageously fast in her chest. It felt like she was driving one of those new automobiles at a thousand miles an hour. Not only from the drugs, but from him.
He made her high, too. He made far too many sensations stir inside her, and while she would normally deny all of them, right now, she couldn’t. Her mind wasn’t capable of lying.
Not now.
All she wanted to do was strip this man bare and fuck him like she’d never been fucked before. She’d heard from other women it could be pleasurable.
With him, she thought it might be.
“You’re high.” His voice was a hot iron, and his nose flared.
